Hell and Back
by DamnationRose
Summary: Greek Gods and Goddess are well known for their temper as well as their methods of teaching lesser gods a lesson, sadly for a young God Gajeel was banished from Olympus to learn a lesson of compassion for others. He was bound to Earth until he prove that he has learned so he can return to Olympus, but one Spring evening he lays his eyes on a beautiful women in the forest.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a Collab story between me and my girlfriend, we did this story a year ago. with her permission i am now posting it here ^^.**

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The tension in the room was suffocating, slowly closing in, although the two occupants of the room had yet to utter a single word.

They both knew how this would go.

A muscular man with a thick black mane approached the elder God, not caring enough about his authority to even bow before him, the ruler of the gods of Olympus.

"Zeus. You summoned me?" The rough looking man spoke, crossing his arms and scowling.

The King of the gods glanced down at him, a deep set frown gracing his face. "Yes. I did, Hephaestus. We need to discuss something...important. about your behavior lately." His voice was almost growling; what he had to say about the other God's actions clearly didn't please him.

The other man scoffed, smirking. "Tch. I though I told you to call me Gajeel, old man. I don't go by formalities. And I don't see anything wrong with how my behavior has been. I'm the same as always."

The higher classed God before him growled audibly, standing up from his seat. "Hephaestus! You have ignored every prayer made to you, and your constantly picking fights with the other Gods! Because of your ignorance, an entire village perished last week because they were not blessed with enough metal nor the skill to make weapons for the war that was waged against them!" His deep, angry voice boomed, anger crossing his usually calm face, and thunder claps could be heard from outside of the pristine marble building.

Hephaestus didn't even flinch at his outburst, but rather smirked, hoping to antagonize Zeus further. He shrugged slightly, his smirk never leaving his face, even as he glanced sympathetically up at his father.

"That's too bad... that mortal lives were taken." He chuckled darkly at the end of his statement, his sympathetic look quickly leaving from his pierced face.

Zeus sat back down in his seat, still clearly angered. "You have no compassion for those lower than you, and no respect for those who stand above you. Hephaestus, if you do not change your ways, there will be consequences."

Gajeel glanced up at the higher God, sneering. "I doubt that consequences will come my way. I'm tired of this conversation." He turned to walk out, the higher God behind him shaking his head in disbelief. Little did he know...consequences would indeed be coming their way, but he wouldn't realize it...until it was too late.

Gajeel slammed the door to the palace of Olympus, growling as he went.

He was the God of the forge; working day after day on weapons for the gods of Olympus, and occasionally, on armor. What he did, however, wasn't out of the niceness in his heart. In fact, his heart was made of pure steel; and just as cold. He did his work for high payment and never made any exceptions.

He was also prayed for by many; but nothing he did was out of the kindness that he held within himself, if there was any there to begin with. Those prayers were never answered, no matter what. He didn't have time for mortals, or the mess that they made of his temple.

As he trudged towards the forge in which he worked, he heard a small cry, causing him to stop in his tracks and look around; his crimson gaze taking in all of his surroundings, but unable to find the source of the noise.

Shrugging, he continued his walk, not returned the greetings he gained from the servants that he passed.

And then he heard the cry again.

"Someone...please help me!" A woman cried out.

He whirled, this time seeing exactly where it had come from.

Bound to a a large, thick metal pole was Hera, the Queen of God's, and his mother.

She cried out to her son, in hopes that they would reach his ears. When she saw him turn towards her, a sob escaped her pale lips. "Please, Hephaestus. Get me down..."

He merely turned his gaze from the woman, whom was a sight for sore eyes. Her dark hair stuck out in all different directions, and her face was bruised and stained from her tears streaming down them, her hazel eyes puffy. Her robe was in rags, and her binds were obviously cutting into her hands and feet.

And yet, he did nothing but turn and scoff. "Tch. The name's Gajeel. Not Hephaestus." He slowly started to walk away from the poor woman. Obviously if she was in this condition, she must have done something horrible to a high up God; and since there was only one God higher than Hera, named Zeus, he knew exactly who was behind her justification, thinking that it must have been painful. But he didnt so much as glance back, even when her cries turned to desperate pleads, and then to screaming.

The last thing he needed was to worry about other people's problems.

That night...

Today had been a long day for Gajeel, and when he noticed the sun dipping beyond the horizon in a beautiful, captivating background painted with soft pinks, oranges and yellows, he decided it was time to call it a day.

But... it seemed like Zeus had other plans for him.

As he strolled along the path leading to his pavilion, a bolt of lightning struck in front of him. He smirked, knowing exactly who it was: his father.

He appeared with a clap of thunder, scowling down Gajeel. "Hephaestus, did I not warn you earlier of your need to change your ways..?" He boomed, catching the attention of onlookers.

Gajeel merely offered a shrug. "Sure you did, but I see no fault in my actions. Therefore, I refuse to change them".

That seemed to be the last straw for the God of lightning. He struck the clouded ground beneath Gajeel's feet, causing it to partially give way, resulting in him loosing his footing.

"Hephaestus, you have been hereby exiled from Olympus, until you can learn compassion for others who are not yourself, you are not to ever return."

The Gods eyes widened, and he began to plummet towards the ground below.


	2. Chapter 2

_Levy is the beautiful daughter of Zeus, King of the Gods and Demeter, Goddess of Harvest. She has hair as blue as a clear sky, skin as fair as fresh fallen snow, eyes as brown as dirt and lips as red as a rose,Her other name was Persephone but she didn't answer much to that name only from those of higher authority._

 _Even as a young child, she was admired for her outstanding beauty by both mortals and Gods alike. For the many centuries that followed she grew into a very beautiful woman and she came the Goddess of Spring from how the flowers bloomed beneath her one spring day._

 _One evening while picking flowers, to her dismay, she was taken by Jose, the king of the Underworld. He stole her from the meadow and dragged her down to the depths of the underworld, claiming her as his wife; Queen of the Underworld. For centuries he watched her, waiting for the moment she was away from her mother Demeter so he could strike._

 _Levy refused to love him and she refrained from speaking with him. Jose busted her silence so he agreed to allow her to return to the earth during the day, but at nightfall she must return to the temple and he only forced her to return to the Underworld 4 months out of the year._

 _She agreed to his condition, but little did she know Jose could fully pull her back into the Underworld whenever he saw fit._

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 ** _sorry very short chapter.  
_**


	3. Chapter 3

Levy sat on a black couch with her legs up by a flaming pile of damned souls, with a book in her hands. It was the only entertainment in this hell hole, and she found that reading provided useful information.

Due to some of the books she'd read while the winter was present on earth, she learned that there was a way to have mortals or even gods visit her during the winter months without them having to die first. With what she learned, she had placed pearls all over the Earth for those she chose to come to the underworld to visit her with a help of a map the would light up the location of one of her pearls as well as the gate to the Underworld.

These pearls had the ability for a quick escape from the Underworld before her visitors could seen by Jose, or his better-known name, _Hades_.

Over her centuries of confinement, there were only 2 people that have successfully entered and left the Underworld without complications.

Levy continued to read until a large black ball jumped atop her. She dropped her book and began to laugh as she realized the large black ball wasn't anything for her to be scared of; it was her own Hellcat Panther Lily. She had found him as a little baby, about to be devoured by hellhounds about a century ago. As she is the Queen of the Underworld, her command to the beasts must be obeyed, and so the cat lived. Ever since that day, he would only come to her as if she was his own mother. Of course, there was also the added benefit that Jose hated the Hellcat, but he had no authority to force the cat away. Panther Lily only obeyed Levy's command, and she had never sent him away; even in her months on Earth, he followed her.

Panther Lily begin to lick Levy like he hadn't seen her in forever.

Levy starts to giggle again, " My dear Panther Lily, it's only been a night since you last saw me, calm down." She stroked his black fur as he relaxed with his head against her chest. They stayed this way until a large crash rang out, signaling that the grand doors had been opened.

Lily growled as José began to walk towards his queen and the pest, " Persephone why do you keep that pest around?" He glared at Lily, who didn't budge from Levy.

Levy groaned, " first of all José, my name is Levy, not Persephone... That's just what my mother and worshippers call me. Second of all Panther Lily is not a pest; he is a sweet little angel." She says, petting Lily as he purrs.

José made a gagging noise; oh how much he despises the cuteness she showed for that horrid thing. "Get rid of him! That's an order!" Once again he tried to order her around, hoping this will be the time she will give in.

Lily jumped off of Levy's lap in a defensive stance as Levy stands and looks at Jose with pure hate.

" And what would you do if I refuse!? I'm already in hell!" Levy spat as she walked past Jose, " I will be gone by morning, remember it's the Spring solstice." She smirked as Jose groaned.

As she walked toward her chamber, she could clearly hear yelling, as well as things hitting the walls. She knew very well that Jose was throwing a tantrum once more for not getting his way, and because he hated the spring solstice since it marked the first day of her freedom from the Underworld.

... •*'✯'*•.¸¸.•*'✯'*•.¸¸.•*'✯'*•.¸¸.•*'✯'*•.¸¸.•...

It was night time, the last of the winter season. Levy could feel it deep within her immortal body, as the time ticks down. She knew her freedom from this imprisonment was coming to a close, at least for a while.

She grabs a little green pouch from her locked box that only she could open on her desk. Inside the bag sat small shiny green orbs; her pearls.

Levy clipped the pouch to the side of her long green skirt that fell just below her knees as she will need them to scatter around the earth. She changes her black top that she was to wear in the Underworld for a light green one with orange jewels along it. The top only went to her abdomen, to show off her flat stomach. She ties her blue hair into a ponytail only leaving her bang to frame her flawless face to complete the look.

Right as Levy was about to bite the small orange orb in her mouth, she heard a whimper and turned to see Lily sitting by her bed. She walked towards him and smiled, " my sweet Lily, I haven't forgotten about you." She opened a hand to reveal a bigger orange orb. This lit up Lily's eyes as he quickly took the orb in his mouth and chewed it.

Levy giggled and chewed her own orb as a swirl of smoke made its way around her and Lily as they both get sent out of the Underworld, and towards their destination of earth, and to the temple where her worshippers would pray.

... •*'✯'*•.¸¸.•*'✯'*•.¸¸.•*'✯'*•.¸¸.•*'✯'*•.¸¸.•...

 _Now to return to where I truly belong, maybe this solstice will be more fun than the year before._


	4. Chapter 4

Levy reforms in her temple with a big smile as she passes along her statues that were still standing perfectly without a crack, it made her happy as she knew since she always answers the prayers of the people that they take care of her temple. She passes her hands along the marble statues towards the door looking back at Lily who wasn't use to this type of travel yet. I giggle well exiting the temple and down the steps hearing claws along the stone ground as Lily follows me.

Every step she took the snow that once covered the ground begin to melt and the grassy areas start to turn from brown to healthy green as she heads towards her favourite earthly area, the meadow she use to walk through before her abduction.

After a walk that felt to only be seconds, she walks into the middle of the meadow doing what she's always has melted the snow and letting the grass and beautiful flowers grow.

Everything seemed to be normal; the snow melting and dripping off of the trees, the ground thawing...

But if you looked up…there was something definitely not normal about the sky. There was a bolt of lightning and the rumble of thunder, and suddenly, there's a man is hurtling towards the Earth, landing with an unbelievably loud _boom!_ Which caused the ground to shake. Birds flew out of the tall trees all around her, startled by the loud noise.

Levy felt the earth shake which she didn't like one bit as looks around her at the bird flying away _, what's going on?_ She thought to herself then looks up to see the Lightning filled the night sky. She sighs knowing just by that display that someone has angered the all mighty Zeus, she felt a bit sorry for that poor creature.

Not too far off, Gajeel was rising out of the deep crater his body had made in the Earth, cursing the gods above with all he had, brushing at his wounds.

He wasn't too hurt, just a few scrapes and cuts marking his arms and legs, and a bruise forming on his side.

Growling, he pulled himself out of the crater and looked around.

Half of the earth on one side of him was covered in ice, the trees dead and frosty air hitting him as a breeze passed. But on the other side... The ground was thawed, beautiful wildflowers sprouting from the grass, and the leaves were already returning to the trees which towered above him...and the ice on the other side was slowly melting away.

 _What..._ he couldn't help but think, unconsciously moving towards the already thawed side of the forest. When he got to a clearing, he stopped, his breath hitching in his throat when he laid his crimson eyes on a blue haired girl...no. She _had_ to be an angel.

He hid behind a tree, watching her from about 20 feet away. As he got a better look at her, his eyes widened. _Or better yet...she's a goddess._ As he went to step back slightly, he stepped on a fallen tree limb, causing it to snap under his boots; and for him to curse. _I hope she didn't hear it..._

But unfortunately for him, she had.

Levy was admiring her lovely work in bringing the meadow out of its winter misery, she smiles feeling at peace until she hears the snapping knowing perfectly well it was from a fallen tree, and there was no way it was an animal running around. She turns her head slightly then makes a loud whistle for her feline companion to follow.

She begins to run out of the meadow on some more icy area which starts to thaw as she runs back towards her temple. She knew she was safe in there as not even Jose's eye could be on her in that temple due to her mother's protection on the temple from the eyes of that horrible God.

When she reaches her temple, she stops for only a second before she heard the growling of her feline that ran alongside her as he entered the temple.

Levy giggles and pets her hellcat, " my sweet Lily we are safe now, go to your spot, and I will watch from my statue."

Panther Lily hesitates for a moment before going into an underground area of the temple while Levy moves herself to lay upon the hands of a statue that had 2 hands together like it was calling for rain.

Levy rest her head in her own hand so she can think and wonder what could have made that much noise as she knew not many humans bodies are built to make that much noise and destruction.

A man suddenly burst through into her temple, looking around frantically for the tiny blue haired goddess he had seen in the field.

As soon as she had started running, he had cursed himself and followed not far behind. He was pretty sure she had come inside here...

He glanced around at the clean surroundings, (sad that he could not say the same about his temple), then up at her statue. _Persephone..._ He thought as he glanced up at the beautifully carved marble statue, which depicted the goddess he had seen earlier.

He just hoped she was still there... "Hello?" His voice echoed through the large building, echoing off of its pristine walls.

Levy hears the voice and she sighs propping herself on her arms well still laying on the statue, "Prayers won't be answers until daybreak so come back when the sun is up." She could hear her feline come out and just shakes her head.

She knew any human to enter her temple wouldn't see Lily so she just turns her head watching her black hellcat come out and sit by the statue she was laying in as he growls at the unknown voice.

Gajeel scoffed slightly, his eyes shifting to the cat, then back to her. "Tch. I'm not some mortal who is here to pray, Persephone." He crossed his arms, scowling after his statement. "I can't believe your husband actually let you out of hell..."

PantherLily rose ready that attack when Levy moved from the hands of the statue to the ground and rests a hand on Lily's head, she was obviously pissed off.

"Your as heartless as some mortals so it was hard to see the difference between them and you." She shrugs feeling the growl from Lily under her hand, " But you wouldn't know about answering prayers Hephaestus since you don't even bother with them. No wonder Zeus banished you, you don't deserve to be a god, you have a heart of ice."

She lifts her hand from Lily and turns walking away deeper into her temple with Lily follows with a growl, " anyways Hades has to let me out, or he will have to deal with a few angry gods." She smirks. With that, she disappeared into the dark of her temple, leaving a shocked Gajeel to stare after her.


	5. Chapter 5

The sun was rising over the horizon as the first few worshippers enter the temple kneeing to the biggest statue in the middle. Lily sat off to the side of the temple sleeping as Levy walks around the temple smiling and touching the heads of the small children that followed their parent into the temple. She couldn't be seen by her worshippers, but she listened to each and every prayer, most were asking to be blessed with beautiful spring flower growths and some prayers were thank you's to the goddess for ending the brutal winter.

As the worshipper's leaves, she takes her own steps out of her big temple with a smile as she feels better after all she's done for those who count on her for answering the prayer. She walks down the steps leaving Lily to sleep, she has waited months for the radiant sun to hit her skin.

Gajeel was leaned up against a wall of her temple, looking at the forest around him from where he sat; his hair disheveled from being pressed against the wall all night. Light bags could be seen under his eyes; evidence that the God hadn't slept that night.

He didn't turn to so much as glance at the goddess, even though she was clearly visible to him. Instead, he stood up and stretched, sighing after he did so, his broad back turned towards her.

Levy looks at the corner of her eye to see the fallen god's back, she didn't care so she walks down the steps of her temple well the breeze blowing her hair and the smell of roses. She didn't care if he chose to follow her as she only wanted to do her usual pleasures.

She walks into the forest and into the meadow, she walks to the middle and sits there with her eyes closed as the flowers and trees begin to sway from the breeze. Hands palm down on the ground as more wildflowers grow around her. She listens to ever sound that surrounded the forest.

Gajeel followed not too far behind, standing behind her when she sat down, not saying a word as he looked down at the goddess with sky-kissed hair. He was sure she wouldn't want to talk to a fallen God like him anyways, so he remained silent.

 _I've done too many horrible things..._

He sighed at the thought, sitting down next to her in the bright green grass to look at the surrounding forest, his disheveled onyxian hair gaining more tangles from the wind.

Levy heard the footstep along the fresh grass, the wind blowing touching every living thing, the smell of metal hit her nose as she knew exactly who it was. She remains silent as she knew he wouldn't want to listen to a goddess that was dragged to the underworld centuries ago.

She focuses back into the nature around her as a few more flower bloom around herself and Gajeel but without trying a small red rose bloom right in front of Gajeel. Another small rose blossoms beside her taping her small green pouch which caused 1 pearl to be knocked out and rolled in front of Gajeel.

He raised a pierced brow when the rose appeared in front of him. _A rose?_ He leaned down to look at it when a small pearl rolled in front of him, and he picked it up, examining it, forgetting about the rose. _A...pearl..?_ He sat down next to Levy, eyeing the pearl closely. _Where'd it come from?_ He glanced up at Levy, examining her for any pearl jewelry. Finding none, he shrugged, continuing to examine the small, sought-after object.

Levy opens her eyes, the meadow was booming with flowers as well as notices the few roses that have bloomed, she smiles as she gets up and fixes her skirt and the green pouch that housed her green pearls. She is well aware of the presence of the fallen god, but she just walks behind a tree and then it was as she was gone.

she then appears walking along a branch of a tree with a smile on her face. she always enjoyed doing that when she was younger when she use to act like she was a mortal child playing with the kids. they always use to ask her how she did that, and she use to always say it was her little secret.

The wind blows, and the smell of roses continues to swirl around as the wind blew through her sky-kissed locks. At one moment she thought she saw a flash of lightning then it was gone, she was curious why Zeus would send one lightning bolt into the clear sky, did he see something that he wasn't expecting. Those were questions swirling in her head as she almost missteps almost falling from the tree. Instead, she landed on her butt on the tree branch but didn't make much of a noise.

Gajeel stifled a snort as he watched her, but he had to admit the way she walked across the branch was pretty captivating. He stood at the base of the tree when she walked out farther onto it, not wanting her to fall. Suddenly, a single bolt of lightning illuminated the sky. _What the..?_ Soon after he glanced up at Levy to see if she was okay, remembering how far out on the branch she had been. He shook my head as he realized what he was thinking. _Why am I so worried about her...?_

When Gajeel glanced back up, he saw she had fell, but onto the branch. The God chuckled slightly, smirking at her. "Persephone, are you okay?"

Levy looks down to see Gajeel and his smirk, she groans and gets back up on the branch, "I'm fine Hephaestus, you don't have to worry..." She grabs the branch above her and swings up then swings on to one more, " If I were able to die, I'd only end up back in the Underworld." she lets out a small giggle.

She walks along the branch that was longer than the last, _Why did I giggle? What is going on with me?_ She thought to herself as she walks but to her displeasure another few lightning bolts light the sky, but the worse of all was the thunder that followed it caused her to lose her concentration resulting in her falling off the branch. She lets out a scream as she falls, even though Levy knew she couldn't die, but she knew this could really hurt.

His eyes widened as he watched her begin to drop. Before he knew what was happening, he found himself rushing to catch the small goddess in his arms, hoping he wouldn't be too late. _But why?_ He thought. _Why am I doing this...?_

Levy felt something holding onto her, but she kept her eyes close for a moment before she noticed the thing holding her was breathing, _Don't tell me Zeus did this as some sick joke...Hephaestus_ _would never catch me, he would rather watch me fall._ She thought to herself for a moment then decided to open her eyes to her shock she saw the very God she doubted would catch her, holding onto her. A light blush forms on her cheek and quickly looks down so he wouldn't see the light pink color on her cheeks. "Thank you, Hephaestus for catching me..."

She slightly moves in an attempt to get out of his arms, once she gets out of his grip, she straightens her top as well as her skirt touching the pouch which causes the pearls to cling together. She straightens herself up and smiles slightly and the flowers around somewhat dance around them.

He groaned slightly at the name, looking down as he felt his face heat up. "Please don't call me Hephaestus...I really prefer Gajeel..." He looked up to smile at her. A real, genuine smile. Not a smirk or a grin like he usually offered... a smile. A smile that had never seen the light of day before now. He looked around the vegetation surrounding them, watching as the flowers danced in the wind. But when he looked up at her... her beauty rivaled that of the all the scenery around them as she smiled at him, and he knew exactly what he was feeling for the goddess before him.

 _Affection._


	6. Chapter 6

They both stayed in that clearing enjoying the scenery for the whole day. Levy felt something inside her that was fuzzy which seemed to have helped her smile so sweetly to the man beside her. Normally the only smile to cross her lips was one of hate when she was in the presence of Hades. She despised him but there was nothing she could do since defying him could result in her imprisonment to be more unbearable than it already was, or he would restrict her visiting to the earth more than he already has.

Levy looks up to see dark clouds coming in as it begins to cover up the stars and moon that sat so nicely in the sky, she gets up from her spot and starts to run back towards her temple.

A thought came to the Goddess's head, and she hoped it would work to tease the Fallen God, " Come on Slowpoke, before Zeus hits you again with one of his lightning bolts." with that a lightning bolt illuminates the sky which causes her to giggle well approaching the steps of her temple.

Said fallen God grumbled under his breath as he followed the more lively goddess into her temple. "Okay okay, I'm coming..." But he wouldn't give this up for the world, or Olympus above. He wished it could last forever as he walked up the steps to the temple; just him and Persephone. But...He knew it could never be. She was married to Hades, and that's how it would always be. "Hey, shrimp..." He smirked at the nickname he had adopted for her not long ago in the field, "thanks for today... it was... nice." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, heat creeping across his face.

Levy turns and pouts at the nickname, " it's either Persephone or Levy...No shrimp..." then she saw his behavior, and she giggles, " is the great Gajeel getting sheepish... that's cute, but I am happy you enjoyed it."

She takes a step into the temple into its darkness." You may stay with me in the temple if you would like..." a blush forms on her cheeks as she has never felt this before for anyone including the God that she's supposed to be married to, but above all, she enjoyed being around this god.

His face turned a shade darker when she called him cute, but he didn't say anything about it, staying silent as he came to a stop behind her.

But her stating that he could stay here with her peeked his interest.

He smirked at her, leaning against a wall for support. "And where would I sleep, shrimp? Surely you wouldn't make me sleep on the floor..." He gestured to the marble floor, his smirk never leaving his face.

Levy got annoyed with the nickname and in results instead of correcting him, she makes a vine growing on the wall hit Gajeel slightly. She sighs and rolls her eyes, " you can sleep in the room underneath the temple, there are a bed and all you will need...I'll sleep on one of my statues..." she said that moving towards a marble like couch. She lays on it with her pouch of pearls to move to the side of her skirt. She lays her head on her arms

She didn't want to tell this God that he could sleep with her in that bed since she didn't want to give him the wrong idea. She closes her eyes on the uncomfortable marble couch pretending to fall asleep.

He didn't even flinch as the vine hit him, but instead, he smirked at the goddess as she continued to speak. After she laid down on the uncomfortable looking couch, he sighed.

He approached her, picking her up in his arms, beginning to carry her downstairs. "I know you weren't sleeping...you can't fool me. And I can tell that couch is uncomfortable...you take the bed..."

He mentally cursed himself, saying such things to a goddess such as Persephone. He was supposed to be Hephaestus, the God of the forge with a heart as cold as the steel he used. But...she was somehow able to melt away the steel; no matter how cold it may be.

Levy kept her eyes closed but giggled, "it doesn't surprise me that it didn't fool you, you're around those other goddesses before you were banished, so I would think you could tell a fake from real sleeping." she lets out a small yawn.

"I didn't expect you to pick me up off that uncomfortable thing, I thought someone as cold hearted as you would have left me there." she smiles, " but it seems your cold heart isn't as cold as it once was."

in her last sleepy word she says, " you may stay with me in bed if you won't hit me with your metal." with that she had fallen asleep in his arms.

He continued to walk, setting her on the soft bed once he had reached it. Sighing, he thought of what he should do. Stay in bed with her...? Well, I definitely don't wanna sleep on that marble couch... He crawled into the space on the bed next to her, making sure to leave plenty of room. Her thoughts echoed in his head as he began to fall asleep.

" _Maybe your cold heart isn't as cold as it once was."_  
He smiled at the thought, drifting off into his dreams.

 _Your right...it isn't as cold because...you managed to melt it._


	7. Chapter 7

The chirping bird from above awoke Levy from her peaceful slumber, she sat up and stretched when she notices something under the blankets moving. She looks over to see a black mane peaking above the blanket. She froze as her cheeks begin to heat up as the event that occurred last night before she fell asleep in this god's arms resurfaces in her mind. _What is wrong with me? I never even slept in the same bed as the God that claimed me as his wife, what makes me want to sleep beside this steel brain but at least he was kind enough to give me space to sleep._

She slowly gets out of the bed hoping to not wake Gajeel up and heads to the vanity located in one corner of the room as she combs her messy blue hair. Once her hair is tight up and all in order, she pulls out a necklace from one of her boxes that are on top of the vanity and puts it around her neck. It's a gold necklace that at the front it looks like 2 branches extended to a flower in the middle of both branches where one of her blue-green pearls sits in the middle of the flower. She felt at peace even with that God present in the room.

Gajeel sat up in the bed, groaning slightly. He hadn't had the best of nights, in fact, he could barely sleep knowing that the small goddess was laying next to him. When he rolled over to find nothing but rumpled sheets and no goddess to be found, he panicked slightly. _What happened to her?_ His ruby eyes glanced around the room, and he sighed in relief when his eyes met the back of her azure curls.

He made his way out the bed, stretching. "Morning, Shrimp."

Levy sighs knowing he will not stop with the nickname so she stands and turns to Gajeel, " Good morning metalhead." She smirks. "You didn't have to get up when the sun rises..."

She fixes her outfit that she has changed to a red one, her shirt was same as the other one with no sleeves and only falls to just below her bosom. Also, she had a red skirt that just went below her knees with her green pouch of pearls on her skirt. She places a hand on her hip looks at Gajeel not expecting any compliment just like Jose never noticed when she changed outfits.

The fallen God smirked at the outfit the tiny goddess wore; he wasn't usually the type to compliment a woman on her outfit, but he couldn't help the words he uttered. They were the truth... and he found himself unable to contain it. "You look good in that..." He muttered just loud enough for Levy to hear, running a hand through his jet black hair; which was knotted and wild from tossing and turning.

Unfortunately for him, his face turned a very dark shade of red, and he looked away in order to avoid any further embarrassment.

Levy blushes slightly, "Well thank you." She looks away, " you're the first God or anything to compliment me in the last several centuries." She saw his red face but decided not to comment on it.

She walks towards the door back into the main area of the temple, " I'm going for a walk if you'd like to join me or you can go back to sleep." She says as she goes upstairs.

 _Why am I being so nice to him_ _? ,_ She walks into the main room and walks out of the temple and onto the steps with a fully awake Lily following her. Every time she would stop Lily would nudge her hand, it was his way of asking what's wrong. She smiles down to her hellcat, " I'm alright Lily..."

Gajeel stood up and followed Levy out of the temple, watching her and her hellcat closely. He had to admit, the past few days had been very opposite of torture; he enjoyed being in the company of the tiny goddess.

As he recalled the events of yesterday, a thought suddenly came to his mind. _Crap. I forgot about the pearl._ He had meant to ask Levy about it and return it if it belonged to her.

He walked up next to her, pulling the pearl out of his pocket. "Hey, Levy? I found this pearl yesterday, and I've been meaning to ask about it...is it yours?" He extended his hand towards Levy, showing the green orb to her.

Levy looks to Gajeel then at the pearl and smiles making no comment about him not calling her by a nickname, " yes that is, the mortals call them Persephone's pearls." She giggled, " they are used for those who choose to visit me well I'm in the Underworld without having to die If a mortal or God steps on it and thinks of where they want to go they will return. It's a quick way out of the underworld without being seen."

Lily lays at Levy's feet watching the two which is surprising that he wasn't hissing at Gajeel like the first few days.

" I spread the pearls all around the world and choose who want to find them, it's very pleasant to have a visitor when that airhead isn't around," she says then looks down mumbles, " I can't stand him."

She once more looks at Gajeel and smiles sweetly, " keep that pearl, you might one day need it." She said that then turns away to the trees as she once again went behind it then appear on a higher branch but this time she was only sitting on it.

Gajeel smirked up at Levy, pocketing the orb. "So, you, the Queen of the Underworld, want me, a fallen God, to visit you when your husband isn't around…?" His smirk widened if it was possible, and he leaned against the base of the tree she sat in. "What are you suggesting exactly?" Humor laced his voice as he spoke.

Levy giggles, " it could be more interesting having a fallen God around then that air head." She smirks as she gets up and walks along a branch, " if Olympus doesn't want you back, I wouldn't mind keeping a fallen God all to myself." She jumps from one tree branch to another tree's branch.

Lily laying on the ground shaking his head, even him being a cat he knew what Levy meant in those words.

Gajeel's eyes widened at her words, his smirk disappearing for a split second, but returning not long after it had left. "Are you saying you actually like me, Shrimp?"


	8. Chapter 8

Levy smirks as she jumps down from the tree landing on her feet, "Maybe I do, maybe I don't" she smiles as she walks past him. "But you are the first God or mortal that has slept in the same room as me let alone lay in the same bed."

She looks slightly to the sky to not see a cloud up there as she was ready for Zeus to strike her for flirting with the god he banished, at that moment she didn't care who heard.

He followed close behind her, still smirking. "And what if I told you that I like you, too...?"

Levy stopped and turned to him, "You are the God that has no heart by the rumors, how could you fall for someone like me? " she puts one hand on her hip and one finger touching her lip with her other hand, she was trying to act cute.

Lily shakes his head then moves close to Gajeel giving him a little push that was more of a hint telling him to do something better than just talking, then Lily moves and sits beside Levy.

He glanced down at the cat, a pierced eyebrow raised, and then glanced back up at the black hellcat's owner. "Do I need to prove myself...?" He asked her, taking a few steps closer to the goddess.

Levy looks at him stepping closer, her heart begins to race. She has never had this feeling for anyone especially another God, she refused to pass up this opportunity. She moves one step closer with a slight smirk on her face as she passes a finger down his chiseled chest definitely liking what she can feel.

"You can do whatever you want," she says still with the smirk on her lips.

He looked down at her hand on his chest, trying to not let shivers run down his spine. Then he looked back up at her...And knew what he was about to do was crazy.

Before him stood the blue haired, hazel eyes Persephone. Queen of the Underworld, and wife of the God of Death. And he...Hephaestus...nowhere close to the level her husband was on. But at the moment none of it mattered.

He put a hand on the Goddess' waist, leaning down to meet her short height, their faces mere inches apart. "Don't blame me if this is bad... I'm not used to this sort of thing." And with those last words, he kissed the Goddess with sky-kissed curls, and nothing seemed to matter to him anymore. Her title, her husband... all of it melted away the moment his lips met hers.

Levy was a little surprised he took the opportunity she gave him, but the moment his lips met hers she just knew this fallen God was a blessing from Zeus since without him she would have never gotten the chance to meet this God before her in the grassy area. She didn't want to admit, but she loved him, not caring that she was the Queen of the Underworld or even the wife of that airhead.

She automatically moves both arms around his neck deepening their kiss, it was like time had stopped around them without a care in the world. Moments later when a breath was needed, she parts from the fallen God slightly with a smile and pink cheeks.

" for a God that isn't use to doing such a thing, you're not so bad." her heart was still racing in her chest.

He smirked down at her, tightening his arm around her waist. "Neither were you..." as he looked down at the blushing bluenette, the realization of what they had just done suddenly dawned on him.

His eyes widened, and he pulled his arm from her waist quickly, as if she had burnt him, bringing it up to cover his mouth. "Levy...we just kissed..." he muttered as he took a step back from her. "Your husband..." He couldn't finish his sentence, do to the lump that was now forming in the God's throat.

Levy saw his reaction as he backs away from her, it was like Zeus has hit her in the heart with a lightning bolt, she looks down clenching her fists trying to fight the tears from falling. "Is that all you care about... I never chose to be near him... I never wanted to be with him... I never loved him..."

Levy looks back up as tears escaped her eyes, " I wanted to fall in love with someone, have feelings for a God that wouldn't treat me like I'm just a prize or even an object to piss off the other Gods." with every word more tears fell. "He can't even see me during the daylight or when I'm inside my temple... I'm living my own immortal life the way I want to before I was taken by him."

She looks away from Gajeel, " Sorry for disappointing you by falling in love with you... I should have known it would be a mistake when I first felt this feeling." her voice cracks at the end then looks at Lily, "Lily it's time to go..."

with that she runs off faster than normal back towards her temple and in the process some flowers in the clearing she was once in begin to wilt, Lily stayed back for a moment just looking at Gajeel with sadness in his eyes then shakes his head before running after his owner.

When Levy returns to her temple, she goes to the underground area where she stayed, falling onto her bed crying feeling like her heart was shattered into hundred pieces.

His eyes widened when she said all of these things, so many feeling swirling inside of himself. Hurt; pain; shock; sadness...

He watched as she ran off, and sighed, beginning to run himself when she had made it halfway to the temple, desperation taking over the God's thoughts. He ran inside, so fast that he slipped and fell to the ground when Gajeel turned a corner to run downstairs, causing him to tumble halfway down, loud thunks being made every time he hit a step. When he reached the bottom, he was bloody and bruised, but couldn't care less. He looked up at her crying form in the bed, anger flashing in his crimson eyes. I'm an idiot...I didn't explain. "Levy…" He gasped out between pants; the wind had been knocked out of him by the time he hit the bottom of the staircase. "I didn't... get a chance to explain."

She sits up on the bed wipe her tears as she heard the noise of him hitting bottom, she sees the blood and bruises. She grabs a small bowl with water in it with a towel as she walks close to him dabbing the cloth in the water and cleaning up his wounds.

"Why would it matter? You only care about him finding out what happened." She says as she continues to clean up some wounds, cleans one cut on his cheek but her eyes were no longer as shiny as earlier in the day, they now seemed dull with a few stray tears falling.

"Because I don't want him to hurt you...if he hurt you..." He scoffed, looking up at her with a hard crimson gaze. "I would have to start a war. Which, I'd rather not start; because I'd rather be with you then fighting a war against some dude who had the nerve to lay his hands on you." There was no humor in his eyes, nor his voice; he was dead serious. "I don't want him laying a finger on the girl I love. And-" he put a hand on her face, his eyes softening. "You could never disappoint me, Levy. Do you know how happy I was when you said that you loved me…?" He wiped a couple of her tears away, smiling at her, hoping she would give him a smile back.

Levy was listening to every word feeling something warm feeling as her cheeks begin to go a pink color. She stops cleaning a wound, and a small smile come on her face but makes more tears rolling down her face, " Gajeel, I love you as much as I can, but I'm still bound to the Underworld whether I like it or not. When my months here are done, I am forced to return to his cruelty." She puts a hand on his cheek, "How much I wish I could stay by your side for an eternity, but the time will come when I'll be pulled back to the Underworld, and you will return to Olympus."

She smiles, "You have learned to love someone other than yourself, you will be welcomed back to the skies above." Just imagine the day Zeus welcomes him back to the heavens and her being pull back into the darkness it hurt her bad. She loved him, but she didn't want to damn him to being forced to walk the earth when she wasn't there.


End file.
